Commentary: New ref guidelines slowing down college game even more

Published: Friday, January 17, 2014 at 08:31 PM.

One reason is that teams are worried about foul trouble with the new rules. Also, there’s the matter of putting more pressure on the opposition’s perimeter shooting.

That may be the ultimate point. The ‘dribble-drive’ aspect of the game and subsequent rise in 3-point attempts in the last decade may have contributed to this.

Fewer teams are trying to throw the ball into the paint to score because of the contact and crowded space there. Basketball players now look like weight-lifters compared to the 70s and 80s when the college game was at its zenith. That’s why play (and scoring) on the perimeter became a focus for defenses.

The current ‘less contact’ rules in the open floor were supposed to help. But they have basically slowed the game down even more with all the free throws involved. And when you have teams shooting as poorly at the foul line as many do currently — with Roy Williams’ club the prime example — it does affect the game’s personality.

The solution — well, everyone has their favorite ideas. Personally, I’d rather see less contact allowed as players cut through the lane without the basketball, or when coming off screens. Also, maybe an experiment with international rules in regards to the dimensions of the lane would be worth a shot.

The college game is reeling a bit as coaches and players try to adjust. The trouble is that it’s not very entertaining for the rest of us to watch in the interim.

Every person who follows college basketball closely believes they know the difference between what is and isn’t a foul.

Yet in the 2013-14 season, that’s not as easy to determine as in year’s past. It has to do with changes implemented this season intended to raise scoring in the college game.

The jury is still out. And many fans would cast their vote in the opposite direction — that more calls on the perimeter for hand-checking or bumping the ball-handler are creating a free-throw contest. For those watching the Wake Forest-N.C.State battle earlier this week, you know what we’re talking about.

The seeming increase in calls by officials in the open court haven’t yet created a smoother game flow, which in turn should produce more points. I mean, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati — two ranked teams — played a 44-43 game this year. Syracuse, though ranked second, beat Miami 49-44 and the Tar Heels 57-45 in games that were never in danger of being called track meets.

Some of these games have to do with the capabilities and weaknesses of the specific teams involved. We used to call it ‘winning ugly.’ But it seems to becoming more of the norm.

It’s a far cry from the sport that produced, in my mind, the greatest game ever back in 1974 when the Wolfpack beat Maryland, 103-100, in the ACC championship game. At that time, basketball seemed like it was more physical than it had ever been yet, in retrospect, it was the pure art of ballet compared to today’s warfare in the paint.

One thing we’re seeing now in college basketball is the re-appearance of the zone defense. It was never gone completely (thank Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim), but more teams that used to rarely show zone looks are doing so this season.

One reason is that teams are worried about foul trouble with the new rules. Also, there’s the matter of putting more pressure on the opposition’s perimeter shooting.

That may be the ultimate point. The ‘dribble-drive’ aspect of the game and subsequent rise in 3-point attempts in the last decade may have contributed to this.

Fewer teams are trying to throw the ball into the paint to score because of the contact and crowded space there. Basketball players now look like weight-lifters compared to the 70s and 80s when the college game was at its zenith. That’s why play (and scoring) on the perimeter became a focus for defenses.

The current ‘less contact’ rules in the open floor were supposed to help. But they have basically slowed the game down even more with all the free throws involved. And when you have teams shooting as poorly at the foul line as many do currently — with Roy Williams’ club the prime example — it does affect the game’s personality.

The solution — well, everyone has their favorite ideas. Personally, I’d rather see less contact allowed as players cut through the lane without the basketball, or when coming off screens. Also, maybe an experiment with international rules in regards to the dimensions of the lane would be worth a shot.

The college game is reeling a bit as coaches and players try to adjust. The trouble is that it’s not very entertaining for the rest of us to watch in the interim.